Description:
For more background information on Saint Anthony’s Wilderness
and SGL211
see
the Rausch Gap Loop. Described here is
a moderate 10.0 mile circuit (Add 1.0 mile if you do the
out-and-back to the Stony Mountain Fire Tower.) with 1674 feet
of elevation gain. The main draws of this hike have to be the
broken views of De Hart Reservoir, the gap in Sharp Mountain and
of Peters Mountain on the final leg as well as a taste of
industrial history. Special thanks goes out to the Susquehanna
Appalachian Trail Club who’s volunteers relocated part of the AT
off of a badly eroded woods road. What is so amazing about the
task is all of the stone work (large
steps and
bridges)
through a veritable continuous scree field that they performed
to make the traveler’s journey relatively comfortable.

Trail
Notes: From the parking lot cross
Clark
Creek on a concrete bridge. Almost immediately bear left
onto the AT, an old road at this point. The trail leaves the
road to the right on a footpath and arrives at the red
blazed Henry Knauber Trail on the right in 0.50 miles.
Continue on the AT as you climb obliquely up the northern
slope of Stony Mountain. Rejoin the haul road in 0.95 miles.
A sharp eye can spot old overgrown grades on either side.
Pass
a strangely out of place flat area along the grade with
a fire ring in 0.38 miles. Since this is outside of the SGL
it might be the only legal campsite in the area. For the
next 1.53 miles enjoy
broken views of the reservoir before arriving at the
Northern Terminus of the 121 mile long
Horse-Shoe Trail (H-ST). Turn right and follow the
yellow blazes down into a gap in Sharp Mountain. On a clear
day in winter you might be able to pick out one of the
Hershey Chocolate plants in the distance. Arrive at
an
old haul road in 0.68 miles. Recently the H-ST was
relocated, turning left here and following the road down to
the S&S railroad grade. You want to ignore the blazes and
turn right to follow the old route of the H-ST. The climb is
very gradual as you gain the ridge of Sharp Mountain. Pass
a large rusty water tank on the left and reach the
southern terminus of the Henry Knauber Trail in 2.64 miles
from leaving the “new” H-ST. In another 0.20 miles walk
through
a
large grass field (perhaps a wildlife clearing?). Arrive
at the junction with
the
Stony Mountain Fire Tower Road on the right in 0.78
miles. The Water Tank Trail will be on your right in about
0.10 miles. It might be hard to spot. When we did this hike
it was marked with
a 2
rock cairn. There are no trees to support blazes close
to the road but you will see one back in the woods. Turn
here and follow the trail for 0.19 miles. To avoid some
excessive road walking turn right onto an un-named red
blazed trail (previously pink).

The descent is
steep and rocky at first but lessens considerably as it passes
through an area overgrown with low growing Striped Maple and
Black Cherry trees. Here you will get
views of
Peters Mountain. In 1.01 miles from leaving the Water Tank
Trail turn right onto a service road, the continuation of the
Water Tank Trail. In 0.62 miles the service road curves to the
left and re-enters a more mature forest. In another 0.37 miles
arrive back at your vehicle.

Critique: The
is long hike, but not a majorly difficult one. Please plan time
wise for this hike. I would venture to say at least 5 hrs if
your going to take in glimpses of DeHart's Reservoir along AT,
sign register at northern terminus on Horshoe, stop at Devil's
Race Course, Water Tank, Stony Mtn Fire tower, lunch and water
breaks and any other small venture you may encounter along
way(i.e. Snakes, Deer, grouse, frogs, etc). I've done this hike
the way described, backwards, used both the blue and H. Knauber
trail to ascend and descend. Note, if you want more of a
vigorous challenge, do this hike in reverse or use the
H.Knauber to ascend up to Old Horshoe Trail. Either pink
connector or H Kauber are real good climbs up Stony Mtn. If one
wants to shorten this hike slightly and still see all the sights
but the actual water tank, I have an alternate route. When
ascending Old Horshoe Trail and you see the start of the red
blazed H.Knauber trail..turn right onto it and take it. this
takes you thru a bit of a marshy area depending on time of year
but climbs to the crest of Stony Mtn. Once there you will see a
rock cairn where you can turn right onto red blazed H. Knauber
and continue down Mtn or go straight onto a blue blazed trail.
Follow blue hashes along a trail that takes you along ridge of
Stony Mtn and winds up at Stony Mtn Fire tower. After spending
time at tower continue on regular road that takes you back to
Old Horshoe trail(people also refer to this as Ellendale road).
I absolutely love this trail for the variety and time away from
"it all"! During hunting seasons please wear at least some
orange.

Critique: I did the same as another poster here - I missed the
turnoff and made it all the way down to the Stony Rails-Trails.
The AT section and Rattling Run Road (Old Horseshoe Trail) are
more like road walking or rails-trails than a trail. Due to my
mistake and the short daylight hours, I took the H. Knauber
trail back (red blazes). It was a good workout and there was a
lot of solitude on a February afternoon.

________________________________________

Name: Matt Hike: AT-Horseshoe Trail
Date: 9/29/12
Rating: 4

Critique: We made it to the top where the Northern terminus is
and signed the trail register. However, we missed where the the
"old" horseshoe trail turned off and so we went to the railroad
grade. This proved to be a little more difficult to get back
once we realized where we were and had to get someone to pick us
up.

Critique: This is a very enjoyable hike. My friend 'Rock God'
and I used this route to reach Devils Race Course. Look for the
orange blazes approx. 1 mile from where you turn right onto the
'old' Horse Shoe Trail and start to climb out of the valley. We
modified the hike slightly by taking a right on the Henry
Knauber Trail (red blaze) near the top of Sharp Mtn. This will
take you across a swamp and bring you back to the ridge on Stony
Mtn. At the 30+ rock cairn you can follow a blue blazed trail
approx. 1 mile or so up to the Stony Mtn. Lookout Tower. This
variation will avoid the 'out & back' to the Lookout Tower.
Total mileage was 10.25 miles for the whole loop.

________________________________________

Name: chris
rockwell
Hike: Horse shoe Trail Loop

Date: 02/10/2012
Rating: 4

Critique: I've hiked parts of this hike before and decided to do
the whole thing today. We left late and was running out of
daylight time so i was looking for the Henry Knauber Trail which
i took last year, so we could get back to our vehicle and end
our hike. I was going by the instructions on this hike and I
have to warn anyone reading there is a section where they are
wrong. You pass the Henry Knauber Trail on your right hand side
off of the Horse shoe trail BEFORE you get to the water tank.
The instructions here sound as if the trail comes after the
water tank. So we had to backtrack a bit. Other then that the
hike was great. There was 2 inches of snow on the ground, tons
of animal tracks everywhere, and it was a pretty clear day out.
Going to attempt the whole loop again soon.

Critique: Wow, this hike took a lot out of me. Granted it was
very hot and humid, with it being July and all, but still it was
one heck of a workout.

The AT portion is, well, like the AT. A big wide trail that is
clear of brush, etc. You can catch plenty of glimpses of the
reservoir. Once I picked up Horse-Shoe trail it became a little
narrower, but a good trail. I suggest carrying a long stick or
hiking poles. Crossing rattling run was about the neatest part
of the trail, as you can hear the water, but cannot see it
through all the rocks. Plus the boulder field is huge, about 20
yards wide, and as far as the eye can see. Once you pick up the
'old' trail, that is basically a road you can move at a good
speed, as the road is very clear. Once you get to the top, the
road becomes very grassy, and it would be wise to watch for
rattlesnakes. I found one stretched across the trail, but they
are easy to spot. Picking up the blue trail is tough, as I
walked right past it and didn't see the cairn. It is more of a
narrow deer trail at first, and I did see where some deer have
been bedding down. I was pretty tired at the end of this, but it
was worth it.